Line in the Sand: Always
by booster-t
Summary: Tag for Line in the Sand ... This is how it SHOULD have ended. It is intended for those who want Jack and Sam together. Rated K for mild language.


A/N: The ending to _Line in the Sand_ bothered me ... the writers deliberately ignored the notion that Jack and Sam were together ... oh, they threw us a cute bone with her password ... fishing ... but if they REALLY were together, do you think Jack would not be there when she woke up? This is how the episode SHOULD have ended.

- - - - -

The ringing of the phone slowly penetrated his sleep.

"O'Neill."

"Jack."

One word. That was all it took. O'Neill was instantly awake.

"What's wrong Hank?"

"It's Carter."

Jack's heart nearly stopped. For a moment, it seemed to him that the whole world had stopped. For too long, he had dreaded a call such as this.

"What's happened?"

"She took an Ori staff blast to her side. Mitchell managed to take them out of phase until we could get there." Landry paused. "They were stuck out of phase for two days. She's hurt pretty bad, Jack."

Jack closed his eyes. _This is a dream, right? A bad one, but still a dream_.

The question slipped out before he could stop it. "Hank. She's not gonna die, is she?"

For a moment there was silence. Jack's sense of foreboding increased a hundred fold. The panic-induced adrenaline rush was wearing off and he mentally berated himself for his slip. Of course, the fact that it was nearly 4 in the morning might have had something to do with it. Not to mention that it was 2 in the morning for Landry. It would have to be serious for him to be up this late as well.

"Hank!" he exclaimed.

"No, Jack. She'll recover, but it's going to take a while. I'm going to put SG-1 on stand-down until she's better. Not much else I can do anyway. With Carter out of action and Jackson missing ..."

Jack's distress jumped another notch. Damn ... he'd forgotten about Daniel.

"Hank. I'll be there by morning."

- - - - -

Major General Jack O'Neill was lost in thought as headed for the base infirmary. _Ten years, he thought. It can't end this way._ He chided himself once again. _Right. It's not. Hank told me she'd recover and besides, Janet will _… O'Neill suddenly stopped in mid-stride. _Janet. Damn._ Jack grimaced to himself. It's the strain. It has to be. But he knew better. Despite the years of griping about her, Jack missed her. _Napoleonic Power Monger_ was what he called her. But it was always with fondness … for Janet. Not her needles. He sighed again. _I wish you were here now, Janet. You always saved our asses — especially Daniel's. It's not the same. Doctor Warner tries, but it's not the same._

Jack resumed his pace. As he approached the infirmary, He saw Teal'c standing outside. The Jaffa looked up and saw O'Neill. For a moment, his normally stoic mask was nowhere in sight. Instead, Jack saw the pain reflected in Teal'c eyes. And Jack knew it was a pain doubly hurtful. Teal'c hurt for the pain Jack was enduring and it hurt even more because he had failed to keep Carter safe.

"T." Jack exclaimed.

"O'Neill," came the response, and there was no hiding the grief in Teal'c's voice. "I have failed you."

"No, you haven't," O'Neill replied. "There was nothing you could do." Jack paused. "Have you had any sleep since Carter got back? If I know you, I doubt it."

"I will sleep when she is well."

O'Neill's voice was soft. "T. I'm here now. You can sleep. Just a little."

The Jaffa bowed his head slightly and headed off to his quarters. Jack mentally squared his shoulders and pushed through the infirmary doors. He quickly spied Mitchell asleep in a chair next to Carter's bed. Jack paled as he took in the sight. All the sounds of the infirmary seemed to disappear, as Jack's vision became tunneled on her. His breath caught in his throat; she was so small and pale beneath the tubes and machines plugged into her. _Oh God Sam_, he thought,_ I don't think I could stand to lose both you and Danny. _However, she was breathing on her, Jack noted, and he knew that was a good sign. Nonetheless, he felt every one of his years as he slowly walked to her bedside, not wanting to wake Mitchell.

He was almost at her bedside when Dr. Warner came over.

"General O'Neill? What are you doing here, sir?"

"It's Carter," Jack replied. "We were SG-1 for years. You don't forget something like that."

"Of course, sir. I understand. I can fill you in on the details if you wish."

"No, doc. Just give me the bottom line. Hank said she'll recover. She will, won't she?" There was almost a pleading note in O'Neill's voice.

"Yes she will," Warner replied, "But it will be at least a month until she is well enough for light duty."

O'Neill offered a silent prayer. _Thank you. Now if only you can do the same for Daniel …_ Jack turned back to Carter's bedside. He saw that Mitchell was stirring, no doubt woken by the brief conversation that had just taken place. Suddenly, Cameron's eyes snapped open. Taking in the scene he quickly jumped to his feet.

"General O'Neill. Sir. Why are you here?"

O'Neill gave him a look that would strip paint off a wall.

"Oh, right. Carter," he said.

"Yes, Mitchell. Carter." O'Neill's voice softened. "And Mitchell. Hank told me what you did. Thank you for saving her."

"Hey. I learned from you. No one gets left behind."

In spite of the seriousness of the situation, Jack smiled. _Indeed. No one gets left behind._

—- —-

Jack stretched his back against the chair. _You'd think by now I'd be used to these lousy chairs. I don't know how many times I sat here waiting for Daniel to wake up …_ Jack sighed. _I'm getting too old for this._

His musings were interrupted by a sound from the bed. Carter. Sam! She was waking up. She slowly turned to him and as she became fully conscious, he watched the pain in her eyes slip away, to be replaced by joy and love.

"Sir. What are you doing here?"

Jack's eyebrows threatened to leave his forehead. "Sir?" he said.

Sam's response was softly spoken.

"Jack."

"Sam. When I said for better or for worse, I meant it. And when I said always, I meant that, too. I will always be here for you."

Taking her hand, not caring who saw, Jack held his wife's hand as she slowly fell back to sleep, a smile on her lips.


End file.
